Kyonko's Reckoning
by Ammykace
Summary: Genderswap verse. Between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning, no one has heard from Kyonko. Haruki must never learn what happened in that time. The fate of the world depended on it.
1. Chapter 1

Kyonko's Reckoning

_You've reached Kyonko. Please leave a message after the beep._

Haruki tapped his foot impatiently as he stood against the wall of the school, cell phone glued to his head. He let out an annoyed huff. What did she think she was doing, calling in sick? Who gave her permission to miss the math test, and her brigade duties? Kyonko was in so much trouble when he got his hands on her.

Irritated, he slammed the phone shut in his palm and he stalked inside, heading to class, gently nudging his earphones behind his ears. It threw his day off not to know where Kyonko was.

Each hour that passed, sent Haruki into a tizzy and finally, Itsuko had to leave school to take care of a closed space. It was only fortunate that she returned in time to rush into the clubroom, barely after the time she usually arrived.

"Sorry, I had cleaning duty today." Itsuko said with her everpresent smile.

"There's no time for that." Haruki declare and pointed at her. "You deserve a-" He paused. "A penalty." He finished lamely. Usually he wasn't as punitive towards the rest of the club, but without Kyonko around, he was floundering.

"Of course." She agreed easily.

"To be detemined later. Now then. We are in crisis!" Haruki slammed his hands down onto the table in the middle of the room. "Has anyone seen Kyonko since Saturday afternoon?"

Nagato had his nose in a book as usual, Mitsuro was cowering in the corner, huddled over the teaset and Itsuko was leaning back in her seat, smiling a little. "Not at all." She offered. It would explain Haruki's mood if Kyonko hadn't come to school. "I would say perhaps she's sick."

Haruki frowned a little. "Well she's not here, what if she was abducted by aliens? We need to go find her! I say we should go to her house and make sure she hasn't been abducted."

"Did you try calling her?"

"Of course I did!" Haruki boasted. Although that had been at lunch and if she was sick she could have been sleeping. It wouldn't hurt to try again. He flipped open his phone and dialed her number again. It rang in his ear. "She's in so much trouble for not coming." Another ring. Three. Four. _You've reached Kyonko- _Haruki slammed it shut again. "There you go, she's not answering."

Naturally, they were all going to along with it, so they got up and pulled jackets on as Haruki led the charge, out of the classroom.

* * *

><p>Kyonko was awakened by pounding on her door. Her little brother was banging as hard as his little fists could.<p>

"Come on Kyonko! Wake up! Let me in! You never lock your door!"

She groaned and pulled her pillow over her head, and shouted back. "Tell mom I'm sick and go downstairs!"

It took a few more tries before he gave up. Silence finally reigned in her room again. She closed her eyes. Kyonko had always been lazy, but this was taking it to a new low. She felt nauseous however, and there was a good reason for it.

Lunchtime, her phone rang and she wasn't terribly surprised. It was probably Haruki. He would never let up in her life these days.

Kyonko had no desire to talk to Haruki. Not today.

When she heard her mother go out to get groceries, Kyonko dragged herself out of bed, turned the lock on the door and stepped out, padding down the hall to the bathroom.

She had been dying for a shower, but taking one would have been suspicious when she was playing hooky. Kyonko had slept in a dress from the day before and she untied the sash around her waist, unzipping it and letting it fall to the floor.

The mirror hanging in the bathroom showed her her reflection. Kyonko made a face and turned her back on her reflection, pulling the tie out of her hair. She turned the spray on as hard as it would go and stepped in without washing herself.

The phone rang again, but this time she didn't hear it over the sound of her time alone in the shower. There was no way Haruki could ever, ever know anything about Sunday afternoon, after all, the end of the world was no laughing matter.

* * *

><p>Cool puffs of air escaped their mouths as Haruki marched them down the hill. "When we get there, Kyonko better be ready for her punishment! She will have to come out with us and pay for our desserts."<p>

Itsuko smiled and nodded her agreement.

Mitsuru put his hands together a bit, pointers touching lightly. "But what if Kyonko-chan is sick?"

"Then she can have soup!" Haruki said as though he wasn't concerned, however he really was. Kyonko hadn't been sick since he'd known her, and that was a concern.

When they arrived at Kyonko's house, her mother was in the process of bringing the groceries into the house. Haruki put on his most charming smile and offered to help. It was the easiest way to get in really because once they were finsihed, her mother allowed them to go upstairs.

Kyonko had finished her shower and changed into her gym clothes, leaving her hair loose and wet to her waist. She sat on her bed idly, slouched against the wall lost in thought.

The knocking interrupted that.

"Mom, leave me alone." Kyonko called to her.

"It's Haruki!"

Her eyes widened. "I'm sick."

That didn't stop the door from being flung open. Haruki barged in without invitation and he loomed over Kyonko easily. Haruki leaned in close and stared at her. She looked a little pale, so he placed his hand on her forehead.

"Haruki..." She protested, trying to duck his hand.

"You don't feel hot, but you don't look good." He decided thoughtfully and stepped back, pacing. "I was going to make you buy us all something, but you don't look well."

Kyonko exhaled when he backed off and pulled at her zipper, making sure it was up all the way. Although Haruki was too self-involved to notice what she was doing, Itsuko hadn't missed it. She found herself wondering what Kyonko was hiding.

Haruki turned suddenly and pointed at her. "You are going to rest, because you need to come to school tomorrow!"

"Alright Haruki." Kyonko offered a weak smile in return. "I'm not feeling well. I was thinking about going back to sleep."

"Well..alright. Let's go!" He said and led the way back out.

Itsuko approached the bed. "You're hiding something...but I don't know what." She frowned. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." She turned around and left, lest Haruki get suspicious.

Kyonko groaned. She didn't want to face twenty questions, all she wanted to do was take a long nap.


	2. Chapter 2

Kyonko's Reckoning

_Chapter Two_

If ever there was something Kyonko didn't want to do, it was going to school on Tuesday morning. As usual, sleep was far more welcoming than being asleep and when her alarm went off she bashed it, willing to snooze for ten minutes.

As it often did, it fell by the wayside when her brother came in and tackled her. "KYONKO! TIME TO WAKE UP!" He shouted in her ear, bouncing.

"I'm up." She mumbled sleepily and pushed her brother off of her.

Her brother grabbed Shamisen, who had snuck in at some point and ran off. "Breakfast!" He cheered.

Kyonko sat up, looking around blearily. Her alarm began to go off again and she switched it off. Wanting to stay home wasn't an option, Haruki was not about to let her get away with a second day's rest. Nevermind her parents, who might start asking questions. Despite herself, she untangled her legs from the thin blanket and placed her feet on the ground, pushing herself to her feet.

Her uniform was clean and pressed, hung on the back of her door. Avoiding her mirror, she stepped to the door, shutting it firmly before pulling her pajama top over her head and beginning the process of getting dressed. Once her clothing was in place, she pulled on her grey sweater to complete the look and set about brushing her hair.

None of this did anything to ease her discomfort. Butterflies flit about her stomach and she frowned at herself. Kyonko needed to get a grip. She finally glanced in the mirror and was relieved to see that she looked the same as she always did. Reaching back, she tied her hair into a ponytail and tried to smile a little. It didn't work, at first, but with a couple of tries, she managed to look as she always did. Pulling her bag over her shoulder, she headed downstairs.

* * *

><p>That cursed hill, was the one true thing that could distract her with the agony of a very long, slow climb up a paved hill. She was breathing heavily and found herself only halfway up. Why did they have to build the stupid school at the top of the hill instead of the bottom? Hadn't anyone heard of buses?<p>

"This is good for you!" Haruki declared from behind her. She must have said the last part aloud. "If you work hard, then you can keep your girlish figure."

Kyonko rolled her eyes. He easily surpassed her and turned around to look at her with a smirk. "Come on, walk faster! Let's go! If you're late to school, I'm giving you a penalty!"

She couldn't help but move faster at his command. Sometimes, she was completely at a loss how to fight off Haruki. At least this way he wasn't off ending the world or anything else that would cause her trouble.

"Try and keep up!" Haruki said. "I'm not going to show you any mercy just because you were sick!"

Of course he wouldn't. Kyonko forced herself to catch up with him, although she could have sworn he slowed down just a little.

"This week, I'm going to need you to help me collect some supplies on Saturday. It's going to be Golden Week, so we need to make plans. It's warm, we could go swimming! I think we should do something different every day."

She stared at him blankly. "Swimming?" What a normal activity, so unlike him.

"Of course!" Haruki declared with a bright grin. "We need to go diving so we can find buried treasure, but not the usual kind, I bet we can find alien buried treasure."

There it was, the angle. She put her hand to her face. "And just where are we diving for this treasure?"

Haruki pondered this. "Let's go off to Hokkaido!"

Kyonko shook her head. "Kind of short notice, don't you think? Maybe we could do it during the summer."

He looked disappointed, but he waved it off. "It'll happen. Plan on it happening! Now I'm going to make you a list and you need to get it all after school _and _you have to be back in an hour, or else."

She frowned deeper. "It'll take half an hour just to walk down the hill!"

"No whining!" Haruki said, dusting off his hands. "It's your penalty for missing school yesterday."

Groaning, she crossed her arms. Honestly, it could have been worse, somehow. She couldn't think of how at the time, but it could have been worse.

* * *

><p>Itsuko found her, just as she promised she would, during lunch. Her usual smile plastered on her face, she pleasantly leaned in, interrupting Kyonko's meal. "Come on, let's go for a walk!"<p>

There wasn't much Kyonko could do, except push back her chair and follow Itsuko. It wasn't like avoiding this was going to make her questions disappear.

The roof was clear and Kyonko sat on the ground near the ledge and leaned against it. She wished she had the forsight to bring her bento box with her.

Itsuko smiled pleasantly and put her arms on the railing, looking out over the courtyard. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"I guess so. It's sunny and warm." She replied.

"If I may be so blunt, your usual wit is failing to impress." Itsuko said.

Kyonko shrugged a little bit. "I'm still not feeling well. I only had one day's rest after all."

"If you're so ill, perhaps you need a doctor."

"No." She said firmly.

"I didn't know you had a fear of doctors." Itsuko prodded.

"I'm not _afraid._ Don't be ridiculous. I just don't need one. Haven't you ever had a cold?" Actually, it wouldn't surprise her if she hadn't.

"Mmm." Itsuko hummed and looked back at Kyonko. "Well you don't seem too inclined to discuss anything with me, but I daresay-"

"Don't say anything." Kyonko said as she got to her feet. "Class is going to start, we need to go." She dusted off her skirt.

"Are you certain nothing happened? I'm only concerned for your well-being, and by extention Haruki's..."

"It's just a cold, Itsuko." On that note, she marched over to the door and puled it open with a jerk and slammed it shut behind her. Kyonko had no desire to discuss this further. No doubt, Nagato also noticed something amiss, however odds were he wasn't going to bother her. With this discussion out of the way, she felt like she was in the clear.

* * *

><p>He was watching her. Something seemed off with Kyonko. Haruki couldn't put his finger on it. She seemed distant, and she somewhat was acting in a halfhearted manner. The biggest observation was that she was bent over her work, as though she were suddenly interested in school work. He frowned at her back.<p>

She could feel him staring and it made her feel even more unnerved and on edge, and when Haruki reached over and pulled on her ponytail she squeaked and jumped in her seat.

Kyonko got to her feet and whirled on him. "Just what do you think you're doing? Haven't you heard of personal space? Don't grab at me!"

Haruki couldn't mask his shock. She never spoke to him that way. He seemed genuinely sheepish at her freakout. He'd never given it any thought.

"Ahem. If we could proceed." The teacher said from the front of the class.

Kyonko turned beet red and sat down quickly, mumbling an apology. Once the lesson resumed she put her head in her hands. It was utterly humiliating.

Not a moment later, she heard whispered beside her ear. "Sorry."

When Kyonko looked up from her hands, she saw Haruki's face right next to hers and she leaned away and turned back. "What is so important?" She whispered.

"I think I know how we're going to get to Hokkaido!"

She turned her back to him and shook her head a little. It was unlikely in five days they could come up with the money to get to Hokkaido.

* * *

><p>Haruki was grinning like mad and when class was dismissed, he grabbed onto her hand, dragging her out into the hall. "Come on! We need to find Tsuruya!"<p>

"H-Haruki!" Kyonko protested but of course it fell on deaf ears as she was careened through the school.

A cheerful laugh, that was the only reaction they ever got from Tsuruya. "Sounds like fun Suzumiya-san. But I don't have a place in Hokkaido. But you know I do have that house on the island. You remember where the murder mystery was?"

Haruki looked thoughtful. "Well I guess that would do." He grinned and slung his arm around Kyonko. "And we can see Mitsuru in a bathing suit! And Itsuko..."

She squirmed out of his grasp with a small, annoyed huff. "Yes, fantastic, can I be excused now?"

He blinked at her and smirked. "Oh yeah. Here!" Haruki held out a list. "Back in an hour, or you'll be punished!"

Kyonko grabbed the list and stared at it, then back at Haruki and back at the list. "What exactly are we making?"

"Go get those and I'll tell you. I'm timing you!"

With an exasperated sigh, she walked out of the classroom.

Tsuruya smiled. "Wouldn't mind seeing her in a bathing suit."

"Are you kidding?" Haruki laughed. "Not much up top if you know what I'm saying. Itsuko's better in that department."

"I'll make the necessary arrangements."

Haruki grinned and slapped him on the back. "You're the best!" He ran out of the room and headed to the club room to make the other members aware of his incredibly awesome plan to spend Golden Week on an island.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for the lovely reviews. ^^<em>


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